SpaceX launched yet another one of its renowned Falcon 9 rockets on Monday, this time carrying a plethora of its Starlink satellites that will fortify the existing lineup of internet satellites that will one day shower the entire globe with high-speed, low-latency internet service.
The rocket blasted off from a launchpad situated in Cape Canaveral, Florida at approximately 10:05 A.M. Eastern time, and after the first stage put the 60-satellite payload where it needed to be, the second stage took over to get the satellites into orbital altitude.
As always, SpaceX attempted to land its first stage using a remote ship in the Atlantic Ocean such that it could be recovered and refurbished for a future flight. Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go according to plan and the first stage made a soft landing in the ocean beside ship rather than on the ship’s landing pad. It remains to be seen if the first stage is salvageable.
Due to the failure to land its Falcon 9 rocket this morning, SpaceX missed a significant milestone in what would’ve been the commercial space company’s 50th successful landing. That aside, the primary mission was a success.
